We had a busy Monday at the barn. Since it was a holiday, for some of us at least, my barn owners put in a hard day of work. And since I can never just sit around either, I did my best to help out with the chores.

We're in the midst of a horrendous drought here in Central California so we're battling dust under frustratingly, brilliant blue skies and crisp, spring like weather. That sounds great for most of you on the east coast, but we're pretty worried about what we'll be drinking if the rains don't come soon.

You see, after about March, California has a natural drought cycle that doesn't end until about November; we call it summer. Unfortunately, that naturally dry season hasn't really ended for the past few years so our normal drought season has been really long.

Not that that has anything to do with our busy barn day except for the fact that I did a ton of sweeping to remove the heavy pile of dust from our tack room and feed storage area.

I hauled all of the small stuff to the grass and was able to get in the corners.

My barn owners did the heavy lifting though. First they tackled the manure pile, rotating the as of yet un-composted material, and then they spread the "good stuff."

The composted manure is spread around the property, filling in low spots.

They also worked the arena. There is nothing better than a freshly dragged arena!

I love watching the tractor smooth out the footing!

Once the dragging was done, I used my awesome t-squares and meter tape to re-build my dressage court. Before the t-squares, the job used to take me a good hour and a half. This time, 32 minutes, and that included digging out my supplies and returning them to their storage places.

I love being the first to ride on freshly dragged sand!

I finished off the already busy day with a lesson, which went great, but I'll write about that tomorrow!

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About the Writer & Rider

I am a lifetime rider. I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.​Welcome to my dressage journey.

About Speedy G

Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. We're currently schooling Third Level in preparation for the 2019 show season. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.

August 2018

About Izzy

Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are schooling the dressage basics. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.